1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interactive exercise device and system for measuring the performance of exercise activity of a user and for providing user-specified feedback messages to the user during the exercise activity upon achievement of corresponding user-specified goals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional exercise measurement and monitoring devices, such as pedometers, typically measure a basic exercise performance indicator and then display that indicator to the user along with some other calculated performance parameters. For example, in the case of a typical pedometer, the exercise device is worn by the user and measures the number of steps performed by the user by using a motion measuring mechanism such as an accelerometer or other known type of motion measuring device. Such a pedometer also typically includes a small display of some sort, such as an LED or LCD display, for displaying the measured number of performed steps. In some cases, a typical pedometer may also display a limited number of other performance parameters, such as distance walked, time walked, calories expended, and other related parameters, which are calculated by a small processor in the pedometer.
A pedometer as described above provides a limited ability for the user to interact with the pedometer to display a desired performance parameter. For example, a typical pedometer may provide a button, which allows the user to change the displayed performance parameter to the next performance parameter in accordance with a predetermined parameter display sequence set in the pedometer. The use of these pedometers is often frustrating to the user because the user cannot go directly to a desired parameter but must instead proceed through the predetermined display sequence to get to a display of the desired parameter. Also, some known types of pedometers provide a limited ability for the user to input physical attributes associated with the user. For example, such a known type of pedometer may allow the user to input the user's weight, stride length and other such personal data by using a button in association with a displayed parameter field. However, in the few devices that have such features, the user may become frustrated because the user must know how to access the particular displayed parameter field in order to enter the desired physical attribute, such as weight.
Known types of pedometers may also provide an indication, such as a sound or a displayed signal that is triggered when the user achieves a predetermined value for a corresponding performance parameter, such as a beep when the user achieves 5,000 steps walked or 250 calories expended. However, these triggered indications are typically predetermined by the manufacturer of the pedometer and are not adjustable by the user. Accordingly, such achievement-triggered indications are often meaningless to the user because they do not correspond to the user's exercise routine or physical condition. For example, the user may want to take several short walks during the day and therefore desires a triggered achievement indication when 2000 steps are achieved for each short walk.
Although some known pedometers provide a limited ability for a user to set a triggered notification corresponding to achievement of a certain value of a performance parameter, such notifications are limited and are difficult to setup through the fixed display sequence and button sequences described above. Even these types of triggered notifications are limited to a selection by the user from a limited number of notifications provided by the pedometer, such as a predetermined set of audible beeps or a predetermined set of display messages.
Personally tailored feedback during an exercise routine is important to a user because it can provide the user with an indication of the user's progress in relation to that user's personal exercise routine, and because it can provide motivation that is meaningful to the user to continue progressing through the routine to reach the user's personal exercise goals. The aforementioned known types of notification messages are very limited in their effectiveness because they do not provide personalized indications of the user's progress in relation to the user's personal exercise routine, and because they do not provide personalized motivational messages that are meaningful to the user.
Another shortcoming with known types of exercise measuring and monitor devices is that they provide limited functionality that is specific to a particular task but do not provide other functions that are often useful to a user during exercise and during various types of exercise. For example, a user may want to monitor the user's heart rate while walking, or may want to use a clock or an alarm while walking, in addition to monitoring the performance parameters typically associated with a pedometer. In addition, the user may want to perform other types of exercise such as bicycling or using a stationary exercise machine, and be able to monitor performance parameters associated with those types of exercise using the same device.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop an exercise measuring and monitoring device that allows the user to easily set user-specified exercise goals that are tracked by the device during exercise activity, and that allows the user to easily setup user-specified personalized notification messages that are displayed by the device upon achievement of the corresponding user-specified goals. In addition, it is desirable to develop an exercise measuring and monitoring device that has an easily readable display screen and that allows the user to directly navigate to a desired display without having to proceed through a predetermined set of all possible displays. The desired device also preferably supports multiple functionality to provide the user with desired functionality during more than one type of exercise.